Josefin Dahlberg: How travel inspires me to live a healthier life
With her background in the fashion industry and previous job as editor-in-chief of modette.se, for Josefin Dahlberg life includes a whole lot of fashion, beauty and interior design. She also works a great deal to inspire others to live a healthier life. Alongside her always pertinent blog, she produces the popular podcast “Josefin and Vanja” together Vanja Wikström. She shares with Swedavia how travel inspires her to live a healthier life and what she always has with her in her hand baggage.
(Photo: Pauline Olsson)
“My best travel tip is to dress comfortably since there’s nothing worse than sitting on a flight in uncomfortable pants that rub you. I also always have a big shawl with me because you can use it for so many things, for instance, roll it into a pillow to rest your head on or use it as a blanket if it gets a bit cold on the plane,” says Josefin.
Although Josefin admits she is a bit of an optimist about time and often makes it to the airport at the last minute, she’s not someone to get all stressed out. She has never missed a flight yet and usually has enough time for both shopping and a bite to eat.
“My new favourite shop at Arlanda is Movesgood, which has all kinds of nice, cute and above all comfortable clothes. They also have good clothes for yoga!
“It’s a bit strange that as soon as people head off on a trip, so many of them start their journey by sitting down for a beer before their flight, no matter what time it is. I don’t get it. Arlanda actually has a lot of good options for eating and drinking that are a bit healthier. I usually get a freshly-made sandwich and a nice juice at Joe and The Juice instead.”
Josefin does a lot of flying in her job, but she also travels a lot for pleasure, both to visit friends and relatives and to get new inspiration. Big cities and yoga retreats are most appealing to her.
“I think people feel good from travelling and getting new impressions and inspiration from other parts of the world. I’ve travelled to a lot of yoga retreats, including to India and Costa Rica, and that’s given me so much for both body and soul.
“There have also been many trips to New York because my sister lives there, but I love Paris too. Those are probably the two destinations I travel most to. New York feels so free and wonderful, and I feel so much at home in Paris, it’s relaxingly artistic and creative,” Josefin adds.
For people who want to experience something truly unique while getting away from the worries of everyday life for a while, Josefin has a really good tip:
“My most unforgettable travel memory has to be when I was in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. It was the first time I was so far away and I was there two weeks so I really had time to be there and take everything in. There was a lot of yoga and a little surfing. It was completely magical and I really recommend it.”
For many people, the time before a holiday is by far the most stressful, with everything that has to be done before they can in good conscience take a break. In Josefin’s view, this stress must be taken seriously in order for people to feel good and enjoy their holiday 100 per cent.
“Above all, you have to remind yourself that you don’t really have to get stressed in order to relax. Even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time, just before you head off on a holiday, you just have to learn to let go of your everyday world for a while and enjoy. Reality can probably wait a week.”
